Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Isabel Toledo: Fashion from the Inside Out

Isabel Toledo’s exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology(FIT) is very comprehensive. Her designs have themes of Organic Geometry, shadow, suspension, liquid architecture, shape, manipulated surfaces, and origami. The Cornflower Dress from Organic Geometry, I feel is the most striking. In this piece every detail is considered, from the material to the drapery on the silhouette. Not only does the piece look fashionable but also functional.

I chose this piece because of my love for the initial shock of simplicity but as the viewer looks closer one is able to see the complexity of each individual fold. The color just relates to enhance to effect further by creating unity in the line and shifting the focus from the color and texture of the material to what the material can do.

After finding this really amazing dress I, I wanted to look further and begin to understand the artist. I found that I really identify with her ways of working and share her same struggles with fashion designing. Toledo values the process of making a garment from the inside out. I, as an artist agree with her, when I create something I want the inside to be as beautiful and look as well made as the interior of the garment. Toledo imagines and idea the same way I do; envisioning the garment spinning in a 3-demensional space. She also is challenge with the connection between 3-D concept to putting it on paper as an illustration. Which I find interesting, and its nice to know I’m not the only one who struggles with this.

4 comments:

  1. It's great you picked a garment for this assignment. Your writing really shows how passionate you are about fashion design.

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  2. I love how you brought something unfamiliar to the table by choosing to write about a dress. I've never thought much about clothing like the way I did when I read your critique. I didn't think about how each fold in the garment is intentional, and has to be worked into the structural design. It's also really cool how you discovered you can relate to the same design process as Isabel Toledo. :)

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  3. Perfect Post Emily! This is so well written, this lets anyone - with a background in fashion or not - come along right with you and see what you are seeing. The descriptions were wonderful - great comparative analogies as you take us along with your discovery about this piece. Keep up the great work!
    -Abbi

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  4. The dress is amazing and I agree with what you said, I wonder though how did Isabel Toledo make the dress?? Was it through draping?? Also how would it look on a model, would it be as inspiring and have such a visual wow factor?? This I wonder because the bottom of the dress seems to come to an end and squish the pole it is on, but what would happen if that was legs???

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